Committee criticises delays in issuing blue badges

The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Infrastructure has criticised the delays in the issuing of Blue Badges for those with mobility problems.

At its meeting yesterday the Committee agreed to write to the Minister, Chris Hazzard for an explanation of the delay and any plans his Department has to speed up the process for issuing the new badges.

Chairperson of the Committee, William Humphrey MLA said: "My Committee deplores the delay in issuing new Blue Badges to those who most need help with their mobility. It is simply not acceptable that people who depend on using Blue Badges to go about their daily life have been forced into this uncertainty.

"We acknowledge that the Minister has stated that any Blue Badge holder may use their old badge as long as they have applied for a new one, but the real issue is the processing delays and we are requesting that the Minister tells us how he intends to rectify this situation. We are also keen to find out why this situation has arisen so that processes may be put in place to prevent it happening in the future.